Filament lighting contact assembly for fluorescent lamp exhaust machines



Nov. 5, 1957 D. MULLAN 2,812,508

FILAMENT LIGHTING CONTACT ASSEMBLY FOR FLUORESCENT LAMP EXHAUST MACHINES Filed OCT.. 20'. 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Mmrr Mar/,ws 5

Nov. 5, 1957 D. FILAMENT LIGHTING CONTACT'ASSE'MBLY FOR MULLAN FLUORESCENT LAMP EXHAUST MACHINES Filed Oct. 20. 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 5, 1957 D. MULLAN 2,812,508

EILAMENT LIGHTING CoNTACT ASSEMBLY FCR FLuoREsCENT LAMP EXHAUST MACHINES Filed Oct. 20, 1954 y 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fg? 3 J5 70 INVENTOR.A 1 @f1/WEL Mum/v.

United States Patent iice .emd Nw 5, ,957

niermann LrGnrrNG CONTACT ASSEMBLY FOR rimonnscnnr LAMP EXHAUST MACHINES Danieli Mullen, Hillside, =N. J., assiguor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania apanage@ october 20,1195-21, Serial N0.'463,43o

2 Claims. (Gl. 339;-151) The presentl invention 'relates to fluorescent lamp exhaust machines and, more particularly, toa filament lighting contact assembly therefor.

ln the exhaust of fluorescent lamps 'on an automatic iluorescent lamp exhaust machine, the lamp -is suspended by its exhaust tubulation l(in -a downwardly depending position) from a compression rubber assembly of -the exhaust head of said machine. It is obvious that when a long tubular uorescent lamp is held `at its upper end at a iixed point, the lower end of said lamp fis `free to swing, particularly during indexing of the machine, in anunsupported manner. Due to the oscillations of the lower end of the suspended fluorescent lamp undergoing exhaust present contact arrangements (which comprise theyieldingly resilientengagement lof the preformed outer portions -of the leading-in and supporting conductors with stationary contacts) yhave proven unsatisfactory. Use of this lower contact assembly produces intermittent and unregulated contact, resulting in 'unsatisfactory lighting of the lower filament particularly during cathode treatment and resultant inadequate treatment of the lamp while on exhaust. In addition, crooked exhaust tubulations often shift the lower portion -of -a lamp from the vertical axis and preventone of the preformed leading-in and supporting conductors o'f the -lowei -filarnent mount -from vengaging the present Vtype lower Contact assembly. Vibration `of the rmachine also contributes to lfaulty contact between the lower conductors and the-lower rlighting contact assembly.

Hence, Ait has been `found advantageous according to the invention `to provide `a lament 'lighting lContact assembly, particularly for the lower filament of a fluorescent lamp which is positive A-in action. The llower kffilainent lighting contact assembly of 'the invention comprises an insulated reciprocating support plate whichcarries a contact and aspring biased levervactuatinggo'r lever'op'e'rating pin, acounterweighted lever vapivoted above said support plate, engageable with said operating pin and carrying a movable push-down contact linger for securing -thepreformedwleading-in land supporting conductor Kbetween -the reciprocating low`ercontact 'and the ltiltable y'upper lcontact .push-down linger. The support tpl'ate ris reciprocable ron an -adjacent Iguide post -by ymeans 'of Icam or pneumatic action.

In Vits general aspect the :present linvention fhas `as its objective an improved rlament lighting contact assembly forza iluorescentlamp exhaustfmachineiwhich is positive in action and eliminates faulty contact between the lamp conductors and the contact assembly.

:other 'objects nf Ythe tpresent invention will become apparent totho'seskilled in thea'rfttowhich it appertains as the description thereof proceeds E*both -by-direct recitation thereof and 'by vimplication from tlte context.

Referring 'to the drawings Lin which YVliltie numerals of reference indicate similiar Vparts ihrughotit the several views:

rig. its a diagrammatic pian view @sa 4s "head nuorescent lamp yexhaust machine, `in which the filament lighting contact assembly'of the invention is incorporated.

Fig. 2 is aside k'elevational*sectional View -of lfor example istation 29 of the machine of Fig. yl lalong the lines I'I-'II of Fig. 3 in 'thedirection of the arrows showing the lfilament lighting contact xassembly `of the `invention in the closed or filament lighting position.

Fig. 3 is a Yplan elevational `sectional View of stations 27 ythrough 30 of the machine of Fig. 1 along :the lines III-III o'f Fig. 2 in lthe direction =of the arrows, broken away to show details of the filament lighting contact assembly.

lFig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of -the lila'ment lighting contact assembly 'in the open yor-'lamp indexing position.

Referring to -the drawings and more particularly -to Fig. l, the vreference 'numeral 10 'designates a fluorescent lamp exhaust machine vhaving a -rotatable 'turret 12pmvided with a :plurality of fluorescent llai'np `supporting heads 14, for example 48 in the present showing, `which are indexable by conventional means (not shown) through alike number of stations. The turret 12 may rotate onthe frame (not shown) -of the machine 1.0.

vA conventional fluorescent 'lamp 20, fragmenta/rily shown in Figs. 2 Vand 4, has 'a`vit`reous envelope 22 sealed a't'each end vt'o a flamentary mount 24 having a filamentary Cathode v26 mounted on 'leading-in and supporting conductors '28 `and 30 `thereof. One -o'f the filament mounts 24 'is suitably provided 'with 'a'n exhaust tube 32 for insertion into an 'exhaust head 14, va's hereinafter explained.

At either stations 47 'or 48 CFig. vl) the sealed fluorescent lamp 20 may ybe vloaded into an exhaust head 14 of the machine 10. From station l through station 42 the lamp 20 may Abe continuously exhausted. The lamp Y20 'may be 'baked 'at a uniform bulb wall temperature (from top to bottom) of 350 to 400 C. in a suitable oven indicated diagrammatically in Fig. l. The oven extends "from stations 3 through 22 `and may be handily provided with oven entrance and exit extensions to help retain the heat.

From station 25 through Vst'atio'n40 the upper and lower cathodes `26 of the fluorescent `lamp 20 may be suitably treated by passing a current (-by means of 'an upper 'lighting contact assembly 38 and a lower lighting contact assembly 40 4of the invention respectively) through both 'cathodes 26, causing the evolution of CO2 gas, jfrom 'theemission fmaterial. It is necessary to heat the triple carbonate vemission material hot enough 'to insure its complete 4breakdown 'into carbon dioxide and the oxides vof barium, strontium and calcium. Overheating must be avoided as this will drive active emission materialoff the cathode and result in short lamp life and envelope end discoloration. Undertreating ytnust also be avoided as this -will cause CO2 to -be evolved 'in the finished-lamp, resulting in hard starters, high voltage lamps, discolored ends,-and wigglers.

-At 4station 30 the lamp 20 lmay be dosed with a predetermined =amount of distilled rmercury by la conventional reactor type dosermechanism (not shown).

l The .temperature ofthe envelope 22 at mercury dosing should be above -175 C. When -the mercury is added 4to the Yhortlamp 20 yit is partially `-vaporizedand flushes residual deleterious gases out of-the'lamp 20`and 'into a sweep (not shown) extending from =the head 14 to a rotary portion of an exhaust Valve (not shown). Further, the

vaporized mercury provides an ionizable medium for subsequent arcing The lamp 20 may befarcedfromstations .37 through 40. In the lamp arcing positions -'a high voltage is applied `across the lamp 20 (-to one Ilegof leaclfi'rzathode 26 in one position and to the opposite leg on the next position) and an arc is formed with aid of spark coils placed along (but not in Contact with) the lower portion of the lamp 2t). The are further activates the emission coating on the end turns of the cathode 26.

At stations 43 the lamp 20 may be given the proper inert gas fill, suitably argon, at a pressure from 3.0 to 3.6 millimeters of mercury from a suitable inert gas supply (not shown) through the sweep. At station 44 the lamp may be tipped off and either manually or automatically unloaded from the head 14 at either station "45 or 46" Adjacent the cathode treating stations, namely, stations through 40 a plurality of pairs of lighting contact assembly mounting rods 50 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) are mounted (radially on either side of a lamp 2li) on a frame or stationary portion of the machine 10. These rods 50 carry the upper filament lighting contact assembly 38 and the lower filament lighting Contact assembly 40 of the invention. Since only one set of posts 50 is shown in Fig. 3 for four indicated cathode treating stations, namely, stations 27, 28, 29 and 30 it will be understood that a plurality of pairs of posts 50, for example 5, might be employed for the 16 cathode treating stations indicated in the diagrammatic showing of Fig. l.

Upper filament lighting Contact assembly As shown in Figs. 2 ,and 3, the upper filament lighting contact assembly 38 comprises an inner and an outer upper lighting Contact assembly at each station. Each inner and outer upper contact assembly has a support bracket 52 mounted on one of the posts 50. An arcuate support or plate S4 extends from station 25 to station "40 and is mounted on, and opstanding from, the radially inwardly projecting flanges of the support bracket 52.

An upstanding mounting clamp 56 and a relatively shorter clamp 58 are secured about the support 54, as by bolts 60 at each cathode treating station. As shown particularly in Fig. 2, the clamps 56 and 58 are suitably of insulating material. The upper Vend of the longer clamp 56 carries an opstanding vertically adjustable contact plate 67., secured to the clamp 56, by suitable bolts which extend through retaining plates 64 and suitable adjustment slots in the Contact plate 62.

The contact plate 62, in turn, supports a pair of adjustable and laterally extending contact plate posts or bolts which carry on the inner ends thereof leading-in and supporting conductor contact plates 70. Each of the contact plates 70 has a generally inverted L.shaped configuration. The upper leg portion thereof is inclined upwardly and inwardly toward the vertical axis of a lamp 20 to guide and yieldingly resiliently engage either of the upper leading-in and supporting conductors 28 or 30. Each pair of contact plate posts is connected to a suitable voltage supply by suitable conductors (Fig. 2).

Lower )filament lighting Contact assembly Each of the lower filament lighting contact assemblies 40 of the invention (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) comprises an inner and outer lower lighting contact assembly at each cathode treating station. Each inner and outer lower lighting contact assembly comprises a contact finger assembly 78 and a reciprocating lower contact assembly 79.

To provide mounting means for lower filament lighting contact assemblies 40 an upper support bracket 80 is mounted on each 4of the posts S0 (Fig. 2) suitably below the upper support bracket 52 of the upper filament contact assembly 38 thereabove. An arcuate support or angle 82 is carried on the underside (Fig. 2) of the mounting fiange of the support brackets 80. As shown in Fig. 3, a plurality of fulcrum plates 84 of the contact finger assemblies 78, suitably of insulating material, are secured to this arcuate support 82, as by bolts.

A lever yoke 86, having a bifurcated lower end, depends from each of the fulcrum plates 84. A counter- 4 weighted contact lever 88 is pivotally mounted between the bifurcations of the yoke 86. The lever 88 carries an upper contact finger 90 which is provided with a generally cylindrical leading-in and supporting conductor engaging portion.

Below each of the support brackets il() a bearing 10S (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) of a lower contact assembly 79 is fixed to a post 50. A lift plate 102 is slidable or vcrtically reciprocable within each bearing or guide 196. A lower arcuate support or angle 104 similar to the support 82extends from station 25 to "40 and is aflixcd to the lift plates 102, as by bolts. An insulating plate 106, similar to fulcrum plate 84, in turn, is mounted on the angle 104 at the cathode treating stations. Each insulating plate 106 carries a lower contact plate 103 of generally the same configuration as the upper Contact plate '70 of the upper filament lighting contact assembly 38. A spring centering stud 110 (Figs. 2 and 4) is adjustably threadable into the other end of the insulating plate 106, adjacent the lift plate 162. A compression spring 112, surrounds the stud 11d, and carries a lever operating pin 114 thereabove.

The above described lower contact assembly 79 is rcciprocable within the bearing on the post 50 by cam action or a pneumatically operated lifting action (not shown). Each pair of lower contacts 1025 is connected to a suitable voltage supply by conductors 116 (Figs. 2 and 4).

Operation lt will be understood that, as a head 14 of the machine 10 begins to index to the next station, the reciprocable lower contact assemblies 79 of the lower filament lighting contact assembly 49 of the invention are all in their lowermost position on the posts 50, as shown in Fig. 4. Likewise the counterweighted levers 88 of the contact finger assemblies 78 of the lower filament lighting con tact assembly 4t) are in their uppermost position, thus permitting the lower preformed leading-in and supporting conductors 28 and 30 of a lamp 20 to index between the upper contact fingers 90 and the lower contact plates 108. The leading-in and supporting conductors 23 and 30 are preformed at an angle approximating the angle of the are of the filament mount 24, thus avoiding kinking and facilitating automatic base threading later in the lamp processing.

During indexing the preformed upper leading-in and supporting conductors 28 and 30 ride off the contact plates 70 of the upper filament lighting contact as sembly 38.

At a predetermined time after a head 14 indexes into, say for example station 29, of the machine 10, the lower contact assemblies 79 are reciprocated upwardly on the posts 50 by cam action or pneumatic lifting means (not shown) until the spring biased lever operating pins 114- on the insulating plates 104 engage the counterweighted levers 88. The pins 114 pivot or rotate said levers 88 on the yokes 86 until the lower leading-in and supporting conductors 28 and 30 of lamps 20 are secured between the pivotable contact fingers 90 and the reciprocable lower contact plates 108, thus insuring a positive contact therebetween.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed it will be understood that modifications may be made within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A lower filament lighting contact assembly for a fiuorescent lamp exhaust machine having at least a frame and comprising mounting means adjacent the filament treating stations of said machine, upper Contact finger assembly support means on said mounting means, a plurality of upper contact finger assemblies on said upper support means, each of said upper contact finger assemblies comprising an insulating fulcrum plate on said upper support means, a lever yoke depending from said fulcrum plate, a counterweighted lever pivoted on said yoke and an upper contact linger on said counterweighted lever, lower contact assembly support means reciprocable in said mounting means and a like number of lower contact assemblies on said lower support means, each of said lower contact assemblies being engageable with an upper contact assembly to positively secure there-Y between a leading-in and supporting conductor of a fluorescent lamp.

2. A lower filament lighting contact assembly for a fluorescent lamp exhaust machine having at least a frame and comprising mounting means adjacent the filament treating stations of said machine, upper contact finger assembly support means on said mounting means, a plurality of upper contact linger assemblies on said upper support means, lower contact assembly support means reciprocable in said mounting means and a like number of lower contact assemblies on said lower support means, each of said lower contact assemblies being engageable with an upper contact nger assembly to positively secure therebetween a leading-in and supporting conductor of a fluorescent lamp and comprising an insulating plate on said lower support means, a lower contact plate on said insulating plate and a resilient lever operating pin on said insulating plate for engagement with said upper Contact finger assembly.

Stratton Apr. 25, 1939 Sulzer Sept. 8, 1942 

